A mother's love is never broken

The ache caused by a missing child is one that will never diminish

The ache caused by a missing child is one that will never diminish. Even death is ­preferable to the constant pain that must accompany the not knowing.

Kerry Needham has been in that unenviable place for 21 years. She has pleaded and fought and hoped, and no doubt cried oceans of tears ever since her 21-month-old little boy, Ben, disappeared on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

“It’s been a nightmare you don’t wake up from”, says Kerry.

I’ve met Kerry on several occasions over those tortuous years and in all that time, even though the pain has never lessened, her determination to ?nd her son has remained steely and constant.

There is nothing you can say, of any substance, to a mum who has lost her child and is still looking for him over two decades on, but Kerry’s faith and conviction that her boy is out there somewhere is the rod of steel that props up her broken spirit.

Her presence, with its refusal to give up hope, is inspiring. My husband, then a TV reporter, recalls going with her and her parents, who were looking after Ben when he ­disappeared, back to Kos in 1993 when Ben would have been ?ve.

They searched and appealed and generated publicity, which led to reports of sightings in Kefalonia and the ­mainland. My husband remembers that they thought it would be relatively easy to spot a little boy with blond hair and blue eyes in Greece, but that they cruelly came across a few who, as we now know, were not Ben. Despite the years of heartache and disappointments, to this day Kerry believes Ben is alive, a belief that has not been shaken by developments which, yesterday, saw British police start digging in Greece.

They are acting on reports that Ben may have been accidentally buried under tons of rubble and earth near the house where the family stayed all those years ago.

With characteristic optimism, Kerry says: “This is an ­elimination process, and that’s how I’m dealing with it. It’s one of the most ­important things to happen in 21years”.

As always, Kerry’s belief that Ben is still alive means that she will treat the police search as an opportunity to raise awareness, to jog memories, or – what she really hopes for – that Ben may hear of the search and start wondering where he came from.

Last Christmas I saw Kerry at the Missing People charity’s annual carol service, where she spoke about her belief that Ben is still alive.

Wouldn’t it be the best Christmas present ever if, at this year’s event, Kerry had peace. At last.

Don-t steal him

HOW dare that Susan Boyle share a stage in Las Vegas with the man who said he only had eyes for me.

Last time I spoke to Donny Osmond, he said he’d love me Until the Twelfth of Never. And, Susan, that’s a long, long time...

He said “there is a tendency to treat people with mental illness in one way, give them drugs”.

Gail Porter said the same when she was sectioned. My dad died after being bombarded with drugs on a mental health ward. As the charity Mind has been saying for years, surely It’s Time to Change.

Minister trades not-so-funny joke

One of David Cameron’s mates, Trade Minister Lord Marland, is currently on a Government trip to Mozambique where, he says, he’s “just trying to keep the sun tan up”.

This follows a recent quip that he could add “alcohol abuse” to his list of interests.

Number 10 says: “He was making a joke”. Surely they meant “He IS a joke?” Only, as he’s spending our money, it’s not a very funny one.

Have my cake and eat it

Look, I know The Great British Bake Off is charming and mouthwatering and all that.

But can someone please tell me what the point of all that shopping, cracking, pouring, mixing, crafting and baking is, when the end product does nothing but sit there in the cupboard, tantalising with its yummy presence until one’s forced to gorge some?

And then some more. And then some more. Until it’s gone.

And one feels sick with the guilt and the calories. And vows never to Bake Off again?

Taking the credit

What a lovely, reassuring call my husband received recently from the Clydesdale Bank with which we have a business loan. We’re making some changes, was the gist of the call, which means you can still have the loan, but we’re “withdrawing our support”.

The charges, though, remain the same. That generous offer was followed up with a call this week, asking us to produce business ?gures. Which means it’s now looking for any opportunity to make trouble or withdraw our loan.

This is happening to countless small businesses across the country, yet Labour peer (and loving it a bit too much), Lord Mandelson, is urging his party to stop bashing bankers.

Still, I guess the titled-one, who resigned from Government for accepting an interest-free loan from under-investigation businessman Geoffrey Robinson, doesn’t have to rely on greedy, self-interested corporations in the same way we do.

Someone needs to have the energy to cut our bills

When Ed Miliband was Energy Secretary under the last Government, he really struck me during an interview when he vowed to take on the energy companies.

I said: “How are you going to make them change?” He replied with passion: “If they don’t, they’ll have me to answer to.”

I was impressed. At last, someone who understands the impact of rising bills on family budgets and morale, I thought. That was back in 2008... Let’s hope Dave has more luck.

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I WENT to see the excellent Our Boys, starring Laurence Fox, at The Duchess Theatre in London’s West End on Tuesday.

It’s a stark, riotous banter-fest, based in 1984, which is an indictment on the lack of continuing care for injured, and mostly psychologically damaged members of the armed forces.

In the ?rst half, a knowing titter spread through the audience when one of the cast delivered the line: “If even Jim can’t ?x it...”

Cue a rewrite of all classic scripts featuring the words Jim, Fix and It...